Category Archives: blog

I guess we all have our on definition of what serene means to us. To me sitting quietly on a beach and watching the waves wash ashore is the epitome of serenity. But there are many other things that bring me peace and joy. I love sitting on my back porch and watching the wild birds.

And working in my garden which by the way is coming along great so far. All most all of the radishes I transplanted last week took and that makes me so happy. It was an experiment. I was not sure if one could transplant radishes but I knew I had to thin them out and I just can’t stand to throw away any plant. So now I know. And the two new rows I planted are all peeping out of the ground. One row is the same as the others that are almost ready to gather, I got one this morning, and the other row are white radishes which I have never grew or even eaten but I will now.

And every thing else is coming along. We had mustard for dinner one day last week and could gather more now but I’ll wait a few days and see if my sister-in-law wants some when she comes to our family Christmas party this weekend. The collards are also ready and I plan to have some for Christmas dinner along with the ham and other fixings (fixings is a good old southern word for what else one might cook.)

Collards

And as you can see the lettuce is almost ready to gather some for a nice salad but I’ll give it a couple more days. We’re eating out tonight but my husband doesn’t know it let. I’m just too busy to cook.

I won’t bore you with photos of all the other vegetables but I do have a few tomatoes and one bell pepper. I hope the critters don’t get my pepper again. They’ve stolen the last two before they were big enough for me to pick. I’ve put Cayenne pepper powder on them to deter the unwelcome guest. We’ll see if that works.

Morning Glories are temporary flowers but oh so pretty. They usually only last a day but I look forward to going out in the early morning and seeing them in bloom. It is a beautiful way to start the day. This year I planted several colors but all that grew seem to be the blue. Oh well, I’ll just be thankful for what I have.

My vegetables are doing well and I am so happy with them. We should have fresh mustard for dinner tomorrow. I wanted to have it tonight but I kept flagging around and I thought it was too late to gather some today. I like to gather my greens early in the morning.

mustard

The collards, onions, radishes, broccoli, cabbage all are growing nicely.

Last Friday we made cages for the tomatoes and we have several small tomatoes on the plants.

And I predict we will be able to have lettuce from our garden in a couple more weeks.

This is the first time I’ve tried to grow lettuce in containers. I researched it and they say it can be done so we shall see. All I can say is so good so far.

I also planted some red cabbage in containers last week; just to try, I never grew red cabbage before.

My hot peppers are doing great. We really don’t eat them so I will pickle them and find someone who likes spicey. They are pretty and fun to grow. The sweet peppers had a nice sized pepper but some varmint decided he needed it more than I do. I will put cayenne pepper on the plants and that should deter him. Those peppers are for my grandson so the varmint does not know who he is fooling with.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a blessed day and will come back soon.

Last Friday my seven-year old grandson had the day off school and I was blessed to get to have him for the day

He and I had a picnic at a wilderness park that he loves dearly. Of course he had to share some of his lunch with a curious squirrel. I bet that rascal just hangs out close to the tables because he knows most humans have a soft heart and will give him some of whatever they are eating.

After we ate we hiked on the boardwalk and climbed the tower (I don’t like the tower but you can’t let a seven-year old go up there by himself.)

It was a pleasant afternoon and even the animals were enjoying the beautiful weather so we got a peek at the wildlife inhabitants.

gators

turtles

birds

I won’t bore you with all the photos but trust me there were several different gators, turtles, herons, crows, blue jays and many others. I am so glad we had this time together and took a peek at the animals’ life and homes; making memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon until then take a walk in nature, you might be surprised how much you will enjoy it.

I promised an update on my garden, so since I will have my wonderful grandson tomorrow I thought I better get this done tonight.

As you can see from the photo above it is coming along just fine. Look closely at the mustard. I do believe we will be eating some in the next couple of weeks. What do you think? I can hardly wait. I absolutely love reaping the result of my hard work. Like collards mustard greens is an acquired taste either you will or will not like them.

Remember I told you about planting the radishes, beets and carrots last week? Well most of the tiny plants are peeping out of the soil. You can see the radishes but the other two will need a little longer before they will be easily seen in a photograph.

If you are wondering about the straw it is hay; part of the compost from my chicken pen. My chickens pay for their keep in more ways than one. It’s a good thing I get compost because right now most of them are molting and I’m only getting one egg a day. I know the egg comes from Amera because it is blue and she is the only one that lays blue eggs. And another factor that figures in to the “no egg production” is the shorter days. They don’t lay as much when they have less sunshine. However, we should change time soon; fall back, so we will be eating eggs again.

Thank you for stopping by. I will keep you updated on the garden. I’m so happy it is doing well. God truly blesses me. Until next time happy gardening and God bless.

No pun intended. I was looking for a photo with something ’round’ for this week’s photo challenge and I found these taken a while back. They are different from a lot of mushrooms I’ve seen and I think they are pretty. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? I’m always snapping a photo of something, but aren’t we all. That is why we love our challenge every week.

I find mushrooms when we go hiking and sometimes just in my yard. I know some are edible but since I don’t know which are I won’t take a chance. I’ll just continue to click away with my camera.

Speaking of edible I know it is time for an update on my vegetable garden and I promise to do that in the next couple of days.

Thank you for stopping by and looking at my photos. Until next time. God bless.

There really isn’t much about glow in this post unless you count the sun and smile on my face when I see my garden. I’ll try to do better later in the week.

I promised to keep you posted on my fall garden so these photos are from the third week of it.

On the scale of life I believe gardening is high on the list. True it is hard work and sometimes in vain. Sometimes I toil and my efforts just don’t pay off. Today was a prefect example. Over the summer I planted sweet potatoes, my first try at it. This morning I dug the potatoes and found only a handful of small ones. I guess I got over-anxious and pulled them up too soon. But that’s okay because I needed the space they were taking up in my raised bed. In their place I planted beets, radishes and carrots. Now we have to see how they will grow. I’ve never had much luck with beets. I know for some places it is too late in the season to plant these vegetables but I don’t think so in Central Florida. Our seasons are much different from most places. And it was definitely too hot for them in the summer. I just ask God to please bless them so I’ll have enough to share.

Collards,onions and banana peppers.

Mustard, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and tomatoes.

Yellow squash and garlic

Maybe from these pictures you can tell how everything is growing. Gardening is a slow process. The peppers are also doing fine. I was able to pick a few of the hot ones this morning and make pickled peppers. Now I’ll just have to find someone to eat them since I don’t like spicy food. But I do like growing the peppers.

Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon. We should have collards and mustard ready for Thanksgiving. Ahhhh Thanksgiving in the south. Y’all come, you hear.

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I love to walk. One year, I believe it was 2004, I had like eight surgeries on my left leg. We won’t go in to details but I can tell you that year I couldn’t walk more than I could. It is a terrible feeling to not be able to do the things you want to do. Oh you see them around you and you know what is needed but you are unable to provide that need. Sometimes I would stay thirsty because I hated to ask others to get me a drink. I’ve always been sort of independent. Now I’m not sure if that is a good thing or bad, I suppose it can be both depending on the situation. Thus I walk all the time. I do walks to raise money to fight cancer and raise money for the YMCA and what have you. However, there are a few causes I won’t walk for but there is no need to name them here. I feel walking is a wonderful gift from God.

A test for you. Take a day and don’t do any walking. If you have to use the bathroom just hobble to it. Then you can relate to the person who can’t walk.

I can assure you that walking isn’t usually crowded. Why? I have no idea because it is great exercise and if you hike in parks and what- have – you it is wonderful. You see nature in its best possible way. And it is a great time to talk to God and thank Him for all His blessings and especially for the ability to walk.

Get out there and try it. Even if you just walk around your block or down the street. Heck for that matter even if you just walk down your drive or around in your yard. I’ve walked in my yard and seen some great things. Of course when I walk in my yard I always find work that I need to do.

It doesn’t even have to be a beautiful sunny day because there is beauty in the rain. Now you know I don’t mean storming but a fine mist or slow rain makes the stroll even more interesting. There is just something refreshing about the mist kissing your cheeks

Thank you for stopping by and please come again soon. If I’m not here I’m probably out walking somewhere or working in my yard.

The joy of getting my fall garden in the ground is something that only fellow gardeners will understand. You start with a blank slate, so to speak, but you have a picture in your mind so you start adding plants.

At the first of this week my beds were not exactly bare. Over the summer I had allowed them to rest and of course some weeds decided it was a great place to make a home. There I was on Tuesday and Wednesday busy pulling out the unwelcome guest and filling a large trash can to be put out at the curb to be picked up by the county with other yard garbage. I definitely didn’t want to add the weeds to my compost pile thus giving them a new chance to grow and multiply. I already have some that I have no idea how they got started in my yard but here they are. Probably with the help of the birds and/or squirrels I feed; ungrateful loots. Only kidding I love the birds and enjoy watching them. Now the squirrels… well let’s just say I don’t welcome them as freely. But to make a long story short (I know too late) I was busy preparing the beds for the fall vegetables which I finally were able to plant on Wednesday afternoon and early Thursday morning.

Now you know how I am and that I will pop a plant in any container that will hold it. I had a couple of recycle bins from years ago, before the county furnished us with a large can, and I have been using them as planters. But when the storm Irma came through she decided they should help support part of a huge limb she flung to the ground; see the before and after below.

Before Irma.

After but I still use them.

You just can’t keep a good woman down. And as long as it can hold potting soil it will serve my purpose. They, along with an old laundry basket, are the new home for my grandson’s sweet peppers.

And his old wading pool is keeping the yellow squash and garlic.

Yes, Thursday I was definitely sore in places I haven’t been sore in a while but I am so happy I have my garden planted. Now the joy of watching it grow and sharing what it produces will be worth the toil and soreness. I will do my best to keep you updated with photos.

What does all this have to do with pedestrian? Heck if I know but I did do a lot of walking while I was weeding and planting so I hope that counts so I’m not cheating.

Thank you for stopping by. Now I think I’ll have a nice cold glass of iced tea and relax for a bit.

Just a quick note to let you know that this year October 28,2017 I will be doing the Making strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Tampa. Most of you know that I have one sister who survived breast cancer and another sister and niece who did not. So my participation in this event is to honor them and also help raise money to research and fight this horrible killer. Please don’t feel obligated to but if you wish to make a donation to help support my walk just go to MakingStridesWalk.org. You might have to cut and paste this site. Every little bit helps.

Thank you I appreciate your support.

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I like to go for a three-mile walk every morning just to try and stay healthy. I usually try to go around seven o’clock before it gets so hot. This morning it was very nice; over cast and a nice breeze. The breeze always helps. There is one hill that almost kicks my butt so I celebrate with a big drink of water when I crest it. Small treats that makes one smile. This grasshopper doesn’t have anything to do with my walk but I love his colors and was happy when I was able to capture his photo; another small treat. God gives us so many things to be thankful for and we don’t have to look hard to find them.

So what does grasshoppers and walks have to do with a row of ants? Nothing really, I guess, except they are God’s creatures. But as I’m walking I always notice these cars on one street I have to cross. They are lined up like a row of ants waiting to get on the main highway and get to work or whatever. People are so busy. I once was a member of that rat race before I retired. And I guess they don’t have a single thing to do with Shiny unless you can claim their headlights. But it is interesting to see. Just a few of my Monday thoughts.